USAID supported the most extensive network of wildlife camera traps in Southeast Asia, providing critical information on threatened and endangered wildlife

Camera traps are labor and time-intensive with some species evading detection all together. USAID is now piloting the use of environmental DNA (eDNA) surveys in Vu Quang National Park which analyze the genetic material left behind by organisms. Results have already confirmed the existence of a rare species, the Asiatic black bear, not detected with camera traps.

This tool has the capacity to generate highly accurate biodiversity information and used in conjunction with traditional data gathering methodologies, eDNA surveys can vastly improve adaptive management decisions, improving efforts to protect and conserve Vietnamese wildlife.